A common use heretofore made of relatively large interchangeable letters has been in marquee signs for such structures as motion picture houses, supermarkets, public buildings, large sign boards associated with a hotel or the like, and generally any marquee or marquee-type structure in which the information provided by the sign will require periodic changing but which must be sufficiently large so that it is viewable by a large number of people from a substantial distance. Commonly, such marquees and sign boards contain a plurality of horizontally running tracks on which plastic letters are hung. The letters are provided with brackets which project rearwardly therefrom and engage the tracks by hooks and/or by spring fingers or the like so that the letters can be readily placed on the sign, slid horizontally for easy location, and removed when desired. Typically such letters are each provided as a single unit having an outer shape in the form of the letter or other indicia and in a color which contrasts with the color of the marquee. Usually, the marquee is white and the letters are black or other contrasting color. Such marquees are often illuminated from behind with the light being diffused through the translucent material constituting the face of the marquee, and the letters stand out in contrast to such illumination. Other types of signs are known in which letters are provided as stencilled cutouts in uniformly rectangular plates. The letters can be seen by illumination through the cutout portions or by backing the cutout portions with a glass plate to soften the light passing through the openings in the letter. Such letters are placed in side by side relation on the marquee. It is also known to construct small signs using block or stencilled letters with interlocking side edges to block the transmission of light between the letters. While such interlocking letters can be advantageously utilized in small signs where the letters themselves can be contained within a frame they have not been directly applied to large marquees where suspension on horizontal tracks is required.
The present invention provides letters of the stencil type, that is where the letters are formed in a rectangular background by means of a cutout opening through a front panel. In accordance herewith, the letters are joined one with another in overlapping relation, but they are adapted for being suspended from a marquee with standard horizontal track construction. In a specific embodiment, additional advantage is obtained by providing for a replaceable color panel to back the stencilled front panel so that by simple replacement of the color panel, a letter of different color can be obtained.
More particularly, a letter is provided for use on a marquee comprising a tray-like member having a front panel, first and second side walls and at least a bottom wall integral with the side walls. The front panel is formed with an indicia opening therethrough and a color panel is secured rearwardly of the front panel for providing color for the indicia. The walls extend rearwardly from the front panel forming an integral continuous rim thereabout. An overlap lip is integrally coextensive with a side wall and extends laterally a substantial distance therefrom so as to provide overlap with the opposite side wall of an adjacent letter of like construction. Brackets are connected to the letter, each having a portion formed to engage the marquee, and project rearwardly of the front panel a distance exceeding the extent of the side walls. Importantly, the bracket adjacent the side wall opposite the wall bearing the overlap lip is spaced inwardly a distance sufficient to permit overlap with the lip of an adjacent letter of like construction.
The color panel is formed of a flexible but self-supporting sheet of substantially translucent rigid plastic. In the eventuality that a letter or other indicia requires that an opaque portion be suspended in a surrounding opaque portion, such as would occur with the letters A, B, D, O, P, Q and R, an appropriately shaped patch of the opaque material can be adhered to the forward surface of the color panel for location within the indicia opening.
In one embodiment, frame members releasably securing the color panel are formed by elongate flanges coextensive with major length sections of the side walls. In another embodiment, the color panel is simply secured by adhesive to the front panel.